Secrets Of The Heart
by Carrie13
Summary: Secrets of the Heart.... a Elizabeth/Jason/Courtney/Lucky Quadangle Fic. I'm also adding more triangles and storylines to my story lol ;) Chapter 5 is now up! :)
1. Prolouge for SOTH Secrets Of The Heart

Secrets of the Heart  
  
Author's Note: This is my first General Hospital Fanfic. This takes place months into the show's future. This fic is going to be a Elizabeth/Jason/Courtney/Lucky Quad Angle. Emily, Nikolas, Zander, Lydia (lol. Have something in store for her...hehe) Carly, Sonny, Ric & Faith are also in this but these characters aren't the main main characters lol. Other couples and pairings will be included in the fic, but as minor characters. Also I don't own GH and any of its characters lol. Also Feed me with Feedback lol. And my computer is a real piece of junk and it has this wierd writing program on it that is like Microsoft Word, but Fanfiction.net won't accept it. So I'm stuck writing this fic on this wordpad application lol. So I can't do any fancy itallic writing or any fancy writing at all :( Anyway, The more reviews I get the more inspired it makes me to write ;) With all of that said, on to the prologue.....  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Dear Diary,  
  
Here beings my first entry in you. I remember having many diaries when I was a little girl, but I always lost interest and never wrote regularly but I'm going to try again at a diary, so here goes nothing.....Today has been a day that I will never forget. I am no longer Mrs. Ric Lansing...but I am once again Elizabeth Webber. Today finalized my divorce to Ric and I am once again a free woman. No more having to put up with Ric's lies and deceits. No more of having to live his lifestyle....no more having to live with Ric period. I did learn one thing through this whole ordeal that I call my life with Ric...that you can never be too careful of who you trust and that love can blind you to the most obvious things. So now here beings a new chapter in my life and I am going to write in you everyday until I can find myself once again and get my life back on track.  
  
Elizabeth Webber  
  
Elizabeth closed her diary and slipped it under her bed pillow. She looked around her new apartment...her home now. She sighed slightly as she had to get used to it. She never once thought that she would be back to being single and living alone after she married Ric, but she was wrong...she was wrong about a lot of things. Tomorrow would bring a new day and the start of a new chapter in her life. She planned on doing a lot of things once the sun rose the next morning. Like getting her job back at Kellys for starts. Elizabeth turned off all the lights and crawled into her bed and shut her eyes. For once she was nervous about what the new day would bring...nervous about everything and anything. 


	2. Reconnection

Chapter 1...Reconnection  
  
Elizabeth Webber opened her eyes after a long night's sleep. She crawled out of her bed and looked at her clock. It was already 10:00am. Elizabeth realized that she had slept in much longer than she wanted to. Elizabeth dug through her drawer and found   
  
herself a nice peach sweater to wear since it was now fall out in Port Charles. She then pulled out a nice pair of comfortable black pants to wear as well. Elizabeth rushed to get ready and once she was ready, Elizabeth rushed out of her studio and over to Kelly. Her first thing to do to get her life back on track was to get her old job back. Elizabeth stood outside of Kellys as she peered inside. She could see Courtney Matthews waiting on costumers along with some other waitresses. Elizabeth took a deep breath before going inside. She walked up to Courtney, who was busy waiting on a male costumer, and patiently waited for her   
  
to get done. Once Courtney had taken the gentlemen's order Elizabeth spoke up.   
  
"Courtney, do you have a moment?" she asked.  
  
The blonde spun around and saw Elizabeth. "Sure, I have a moment...why?" Courtney asked as she looked at Elizabeth suspiciously.  
  
"I was wondering if you have seen Tammy around?" Elizabeth asked. (A/N: Note sure if she is still the current owner, but in this fic she is)  
  
"No I haven't....why?" Courtney said  
  
"I...well...I was hoping to talk to her about getting my old job back." Elizabeth said quietly.  
  
"Well...the place sure could use the help for sure. I have her number in back, let me call her for you." Courtney said as she started to go into the back.  
  
"Hey Courtney." Elizabeth said.   
  
Courtney stopped and spun around. "What?"  
  
"Thank you." Elizabeth said with a smile. Courtney smiled back and then disappeared into the back. Elizabeth took a seat at an empty table and waited for Courtney to return. *That wasn't so hard. And Courtney isn't that bad of a person after all if she does this for me* she thought to herself. As she waited on Courtney to return, Elizabeth heard the door to Kelly's chime open and then saw Lucky Spencer walk in.  
  
"Lucky!" Elizabeth called over to him to get his attention. Lucky turned and saw Elizabeth. She motioned for him to come over. Lucky walked over and took a seat at the table across from Elizabeth.  
  
"Hey Elizabeth." Lucky said with a friendly smile. "I haven't seen you in a while. How have you been?"  
  
"Uh...pretty good I guess. My divorce finalized today. I'm now officially free of Ric Lansing." Liz said.   
  
Lucky smiled slightly. "I'm sorry about what happened with Ric, he didn't deserve you and he never will. But I know that you did love him at one time."  
  
"Yes, I did love Ric at one time...but that love died away once I found out about him keeping Carly in that panic room. He lied to me, kept things from me and did many more things to me and I was too stupid to figure them out until I did. My god Lucky, Carly was in the house for a long time until I found her." Elizabeth said.  
  
"Don't blame yourself Liz....it wasn't your fault." Lucky said as he looked at her. "It really wasn't...and if I see Ric come near you and you don't want him near you, then I'll give him a beating." Lucky said with a smile.  
  
Elizabeth couldn't help but smile at his comment. "Thanks Lucky. I missed our friendship and I miss you. How about we go back to having a strong friendship again...like the good old days."  
  
"I don't know about like the good old days, but I want to be your friend for sure. You are a nice person and who wouldn't want to be your friend." he said as he looked into her eyes.  
  
Elizabeth smiled and before she could say anything else, Courtney had made her way over to where Lucky and Liz were.  
  
"I've got some good news for you Elizabeth....you can have your old job back." Courtney said. "You start tomorrow. 8 am until 4 pm." she then added  
  
"Thanks Courtney. I owe you." Elizabeth said.  
  
"Well...how about covering a few shifts for me later on this week? Jason and I are going to try and get married again real soon and I need some time off to make some wedding arrangements." Courtney said then smiled to herself thinking about the perfect   
  
wedding to Jason. Lucky rolled his eyes slightly and got up.   
  
"I can tell that this is going to be some girl talk, so I'm going to leave now while I still can. I'll talk to you later Elizabeth." Lucky said then headed over to the counter to order something to drink. Elizabeth watched him leave and turned to Courtney.   
  
"Sure thing, I can do that." Elizabeth replied. "Just call me about the dates and the times and I'll cover them for you." Elizabeth heard the door chime again and saw Jason Morgan walk in. She suddenly felt tense and hoped that he wouldn't come over to where she and Courtney were. But sure enough Jason made a beeline over to where the two were. Courtney saw Jason and gave him a kiss hello.  
  
"Hey baby, what are you doing here? My shift doesn't end for a few more hours." Courtney said to Jason.  
  
Jason smiled at Courtney then glanced over at Liz. "Is everything alright here?" he asked directing his question towards Courtney.  
  
"Yes, everything is fine Jason." Courtney replied. "Oh great news....I can finally take my vacation time that I wanted to plan the wedding. Elizabeth is working here again and she is covering my shifts!" she exclaimed happily as her eyes lit up.  
  
"Thats great Court." Jason said.   
  
"Now what are you doing here again?" Courtney asked. "Not that I'm complaining though." she added.  
  
"I was just going to warn you about Carly...shes on a mission....to get us married asap. She is prying for a fast wedding and I wanted to warn you about her. Don't let her pressure you into anything that you don't want in the wedding...remember I'm doing this wedding for you because personally I'd rather elope or have a very small ceremony where there are none of those tuxes or anything. Anyway, she said that she was going to stop by here soon, so be prepared." Jason said.   
  
Courtney laughed and smiled. "Don't worry Jason, I can handle Carly." she said. "Now I have to get going...there are costumers to wait on and I need some good tips. I'll see you tomorrow for your shift Elizabeth and I will see you later at home Jason." she   
  
said before leaving to go and wait on more costumers. The next minute was a minute of silence. Elizabeth and Jason exchanged glances but neither of them said anything.  
  
"So I guess you are working at Kelly's again." Jason said breaking the silence  
  
"Yeah I am. I wanted my old job back and Courtney helped me get it back." Elizabeth said.  
  
There was another moment of silence and Jason finally sat down across from Elizabeth. He sat on the edge of the chair and sighed slightly. "I just wanted to let you know that Sonny let Ric live and...." he started then got cut off.  
  
"I don't care about Ric anymore. I divorced him." Elizabeth said instantly. "You had no idea did you?"   
  
Jason shook his head. "No, I didn't. I've been preoccupied lately....I just figured that you were still married to him."  
  
"Well you figured wrong, I hate Ric Lansing as much as you, Sonny and Carly do." Elizabeth said. "Can we have a decent conversation without bringing up Sonny, Ric or some business things?" she asked.  
  
Jason shifted uncomfortably in his chair. "I guess we can." he replied.  
  
"Good." Elizabeth said. There was another moment of silence and Elizabeth decided to break it. "How have you been doing?" she asked.  
  
"Uh...I guess okay. I've been busy with wedding planning and other things. Who knew that planning a wedding let along 2 in the same year could be so hard." he said and cracked a slight smile. Elizabeth smiled. She felt the tension die down and felt less tense.   
  
"Well planning a wedding is very hard. You didn't really expect Courtney to marry you in some cheap chapel where you can wear that motorcycle jacket of yours did you?" she said   
  
with a slight laugh.  
  
"I guess not. Courtney loves me...but she wouldn't agree to that." he said with a slight chuckle.  
  
*********  
  
Courtney came out from the back and saw Jason and Elizabeth sitting at the table chatting away. Another waitress, Lisa came up behind Courtney.  
  
"You better watch that man of yours girl. He looks a little too comfortable with that girl over there." Lisa said then went into the back again. Courtney continued to watch the two of them and then shook her head getting all the thoughts of what Lisa said to her out of her head. 


	3. Helping a Friend

Chapter 2....Helping a friend  
  
"And the best part about having one of those big weddings is all the presents that you get from different people." Elizabeth said to Jason. The two had been talking about wedding planning for a while now....but at least they were having a normal decent conversation.   
  
"Maybe I should get you two a toaster." Elizabeth joked then smiled.   
  
Jason chuckled slightly at her comment. "I don't think Courtney and I will need a toaster....now a pair of new leather coats for my motorcycle would be a good thoughtful gift." he said with a grin.  
  
"In your dreams. I'm not made of money you know." Elizabeth said then heard her cell phone start going off. "Hold on for a sec Jase, this call may be important." she said as she dug into her purse and fished out her cell phone. She opened it, turned it on and held it close to her ear. "Hello?" she said into the phone. Jason watched as her friendly expression on her face fell into a serious expression. "You are in the park?... okay....I'll meet you there." was all he heard Elizabeth say. Elizabeth shut her cell phone and put it back in her purse and stood up. "That was Emily, she seemed eager to see me for some reason. She said that she had a problem or something. I'm going to meet her at the park. I have to go."  
  
"Wait, is she alright?" Jason asked.  
  
"I think so. She didn't mention being physically hurt. She has been in good health since her cancer went into remission so it can't be medical related." Elizabeth said and went to the door. "Hey if you want some more wedding planning tips, give me a call on my cell. It was nice having a real conversation with you Jason. I missed having you to talk to." She didn't bother to wait for a response from Jason. She rushed out the door and to the park.  
  
Courtney came out from behind the counter after she saw Elizabeth leave and went over to Jason. "What was that all about?" she asked him. Jason turned around in his chair to face Courtney.  
  
"She received a phone call from Emily so she went to meet her in the park." Jason replied.   
  
Courtney nodded and then turned around towards the back. "Lisa! I'm leaving early. Cover for me." she said.  
  
"Alright, but next time you are going to cover for me!" Came Lisa's voice from the back of Kellys.  
  
Courtney took off her apron and draped it over a nearby chair. "I want to spend some quality time with my handsome fiance right now." she said to Jason with a smile. Jason got up and turned to face her.  
  
"Alright...what do you have your heart set on doing? he asked her.  
  
Courtney smiled seductively and walked up to Jason and gave him a kiss on the lips. "Need I say more?" she said once she broke the kiss.  
  
*********  
  
Elizabeth spotted Emily Quartermaine sitting on a park bench once she arrived at the park. She walked towards her and sat down next to her.  
  
"Hey." Elizabeth said. "Is everything alright?" she asked. "You seemed urgent to see me when you called."  
  
Emily sighed and fought back the tears. "I realized something...." she started  
  
"You realized what Em?" Elizabeth asked her friend as she looked at her.  
  
"I'm in love with a married man." Emily said sadly.  
  
Elizabeth figured that it had to be the newly married Nikolas Cassadine. She knew that Nikolas loved Emily by just observing the way he looked at Emily and the way he treated her.... and she could see that Emily loved Nikolas even if Emily herself didn't know it. But she feared that it was too late for them. Emily was now engaged to Zander Smith and Nikolas was married to the now Lydia Cassadine. Elizabeth had met Lydia at Nikolas' wedding and she hated her from talking to her for five minutes. She was a snob, nasty as hell and a first class bitch in Elizabeth's opinion.  
  
"Em....I'm so sorry." Elizabeth said and pulled her best friend into a hug. "You have to believe that everything will turn out for the best." she said once she broke the hug. "But I know one thing, you can't be engaged to Zander when you are in love with Nikolas."  
  
"I know, I know. Its not fair to Zander." Emily says. "But Nikolas is always going to be married now and Zander is here and now...."  
  
"Zander seems to be your safety net to me. He is you second choice and I think he always will be from now on. I know you didn't plan on falling in love with Nikolas and I sure know that Nikolas didn't plan on falling in love with you too....you love each other but your timing...well stinks Em. What made you realize that you really were in love with Nikolas for real?" Elizabeth said.  
  
"I realized in on his wedding day to Lydia....but I didn't speak up. I know I should have now...I could have stopped him from making the biggest mistake of his life. He even admitted to me that he loved me the night before his wedding...Now the only way that he can be free of Lydia is if she cheats on him. He told me once he was married to Lydia the only way he would divorce her was if she cheated on him and he found out...which is not likely since that girl would never jeopardize her money ticket." Emily says.  
  
"You never know that Emily. This Lydia woman seems like the type that could commit adultery." Elizabeth says."Just from talking to her, I got the feeling that she isn't the one man type of girl."  
  
Emily smiled sadly. "Thank you for coming here and talking to me...you have helped me a lot. I just needed to get everything off my chest before I drove myself crazy... And I am going to break off my engagement real soon...but not now. I need to come up with a good way to break it off with Zander without crushing his heart because he is a great guy."  
  
"That he is." Elizabeth said and smiled slightly as she watched Emily get up. "Good luck Emily and I hope things will get better for you."  
  
"Thanks, I'll talk to you later ok?" Emily said.  
  
"Okay." Elizabeth replied with a smile and watched Emily walk off. *I hope things work out between you and Nikolas, Emily* she thought to herself before getting up and walking off in the opposite direction.  
  
(So what do you all think? Should I continue? lol. I'm going to include more characters in the next few chapters like Nikolas, Zander, Carly, Sonny, Ric...lol Keep those reviews comming. I already have chapters 3 and 4 written up. I'm going to post chapter 3 tomorrow and chapter 4 the next day...unless someone really wants me to post both of them at the same time lol) 


	4. Born To Be Free

Chapter 3.....Born to be Free  
  
*Evening*  
  
Emily Quartermaine sat down across from Zander Smith at the Port Charles Hotel and Grille. Zander had planned a romantic dinner for the two of them. Emily hadn't gotten the chance to end things with Zander and she planned on breaking the news to him after they had dinner. She hoped that he wouldn't be crushed and that he could rebuild his life with someone that loved him with their whole heart and loved only him. Emily knew that she wasn't that girl now...she didn't before but she knew now.  
  
"This was very sweet of you to do for me Zander...it really was." Emily said to him and smiled slightly.  
  
"Well I love you Emily and I will do anything for you. I want to make you happy Em and once we are married I can't wait to make you happy for the rest of our lives together." Zander said and flashed a smile. Zander was making this really hard for Emily now. She looked at him seriously.  
  
"Zander, after we eat...I need to tell you something, its really important." Emily says.  
  
Zander's smile faded and his face grew serious. "Is there something wrong Emily?" he asked.  
  
"You will find out after dinner, lets enjoy this nice meal and then I will tell you what I need to tell you." Emily says and forced a smile. *I hope I'm doing the right thing and that I don't hurt him too badly* she thought as she looked at him.  
  
*********  
  
Nikolas Cassadine slumped down in his chair at Wyndemere. He should be happy right now since the family wasn't in any kind of financial trouble, but he was miserable. He felt dead inside ever since he slapped the cuffs on himself when he married Lydia and even worse Emily, the woman that he really loved, was now engaged to Zander. He knew that she wouldn't back out of the engagement. Nikolas knew it was time to let her go...for good. His deep thoughts were interrupted by Lydia Cassadine waving her hands in front of his face. Nikolas blinked and was now back into reality.  
  
"What do you want Lydia?" he asked slightly annoyed.  
  
"Well....I want to have my husband's attention for a minute. You should pay attention to me because like it or not I *am* your wife." Lydia said in her usual snotty tone.  
  
"Don't remind me." Nikolas mumbled to himself. He looked at Lydia and he noticed her mouth starting to open to say something. Before Lydia could get a word out, Nikolas heard the doors open. He looked past Lydia and saw his friend Elizabeth walk in.  
  
"Nikolas, we need to talk...in private." Elizabeth started as she glared at Lydia.  
  
Lydia rolled her eyes. "Fine, I'll leave. I'll go and get a drink or something at a bar. Its not too late out." she said and grabbed her purse off the sofa and walked past Elizabeth to the door. Elizabeth made sure that she heard the door shut before she said anything else.  
  
"Nikolas...I talked to Emily earlier." Liz started.  
  
That instantly got Nikolas' attention. "Is she alright?" he asked instinctively.  
  
"She is fine physically...but not emotionally." Elizabeth said.  
  
"What do you mean." Nikolas asked rising from his chair.  
  
"She is in love with you Nikolas." Elizabeth came out and said.  
  
Nikolas felt his heart beat faster. She loved him....Emily actually returned his feelings. It then hit him that it didn't matter now since he was a married man.  
  
"Did she come out and tell you this?" he inquired  
  
"Yes, she did Nikolas. She is even breaking off her engagement to Zander because of her feelings for you." Elizabeth said.  
  
Nikolas' heart sunk in his chest. If only he didn't marry Lydia. He could be with Emily now if he wasn't married.   
  
"We can't be together Elizabeth." he said with a huge amount of sadness in his voice. "I'm stuck with Lydia until death...or until she cheats on me." he said.  
  
"Nikolas...Divorce her." Elizabeth firmly said. "She is a snobbish bitch and you deserve to be with someone who you love and someone who is capable of loving you. All Lydia is capable of doing is loving money and/or herself."  
  
"Don't you see Elizabeth...I can't!" Nikolas exclaimed out of peer frustration. "I made a commitment to her and I can't break it unless she breaks her commitment to me first."  
  
"Nikolas Cassadine, you are too noble for your own good. Fine, pass up your ticket to real love for your so called 'commitment' to Lydia." Elizabeth said as anyone could see the anger in her eyes. Elizabeth didn't understand why he had to stay in that bogus marriage. She went to the door.   
  
"Think about what I said Nikolas and I'll show myself out." Elizabeth said then slammed the door shut. Nikolas sighed softly as he went to return to his desk. He stopped in his tracks. Instead of going back to his desk, he found himself grabbing his coat and car keys......  
  
*******  
  
Carly Corinthos walked into Sonny's Penthouse. She knew that she was a little late coming home but she had stopped at the store on her way home to pick up some baby formula for her newly born child, Benjy. As soon as she stepped inside, she was met by an angry Sonny Corinthos sitting in the chair.  
  
"Hey." Carly said with a smile  
  
Sonny didn't say anything at first. "You are late." he firmly said to his wife.  
  
"Sorry, I had to stop at the store on my way home...no need to worry, I'm a big girl and I can take care of myself." Carly said with a smile.  
  
Sonny wasn't amused. "You could have been kidnaped again!" he roared. "You were to be home a half hour ago."  
  
"Geesh, I didn't know that I had a curfew like a teenager now." Carly said not about to take any crap from him.  
  
"Maybe you like making me worry about you." Sonny said as he rose from his chair and got himself something to drink.  
  
"I do not Sonny." Carly insisted. "I had to make a stop at the store for our child." she said as she sat the grocery bag on the sofa.  
  
"I could have sent someone to do that." Sonny said. "I want you here until I tell you to leave. Do I make myself clear?" he said. He didn't want to take any chances of having Carly kidnaped again.  
  
"No, you don't make yourself clear." she said. "Where are Michael and Benjy?" she asked  
  
"They are sleeping upstairs." Sonny replied.  
  
"Good because I *am* going out." Carly said and grabbed her coat from the sofa.  
  
"Carly... Don't you leave." Sonny said in a warning tone.  
  
Carly ignored him and went to the door. "I will be home when I please. I won't allow you to take my freedom from me. I could take care of myself in the past and can sure as hell can take care of myself now." with that Carly left the Penthouse. She stood outside the door and listened in for a second.  
  
"God damn it!" she heard Sonny say from inside.  
  
Carly then walked away from the door and to the elevator. She pressed the button and stepped on an empty elevator once it arrived. She took one last glance at the door of Sonny's Penthouse. *Sorry Sonny, but I want my freedom back. You are just going to have to trust me when I told you that I can take care of myself.* the elevator door then closed..... 


	5. The Color Of Love

Chapter 4.....The Color Of Love  
  
A/N: I know that I said that I was going to post Chapter 3 and 4 later, but I decided to put them up sooner than I organially thought lol. I posted Chapter 3 up eariler, so I decided I might as well post Chapter 4. Anyway, Thanks for all the reviews so far :D Keep them comming ;)  
  
Elizabeth Webber stepped inside Carly's club. She needed to have a good evening out and   
  
try and forget about all her problems and those of her friends. Elizabeth made her way   
  
towards the bar and sat down. She just ordered a small glass of wine to start off with. She   
  
turned around in her barstool to see if she recognized anyone that she knew and she was   
  
relieved in a way that she didn't. Elizabeth then turned back around. She heard people come   
  
in and out of the club and didn't care to look and see who they were. As she sipped on her   
  
drink, she was surprised to have someone tap her on her shoulder. She turned around and   
  
looked at who it was. She dropped her glass in shock. It was her ex husband....Ric Lansing.  
  
"Elizabeth...before you scream or run I want to talk to you." Ric said.   
  
"Get away from me!" Elizabeth spat as she stood up. She had to get out of there but Ric now stood in her path.  
  
"I love you Elizabeth and I want another chance." Ric said as he gazed into her eyes.  
  
"I don't think so....now get out of my way." Elizabeth said coldly.  
  
Ric then grabbed her and kissed her. Elizabeth broke the kiss and then slapped him hard across the face. "You pig! Leave me alone." she said.  
  
"I can't let you go Elizabeth. I want you back and I won't take no for an answer. I'm sorry about everything that I did, I did it for you." Ric said with his eyes pleading.  
  
"Go to hell!" Elizabeth spat.  
  
Ric was now angry. He grabbed her wrists and wouldn't let go....  
  
*******  
  
Jason and Courtney walked into Carly's club for a night out together. Courtney was on his right arm smiling from ear to ear.  
  
"Its been so long since we have been out together. After making love all day, this is just what we need." she said with a smile.  
  
Jason by then wasn't listening. He had spotted Elizabeth and Ric in an heated argument.  
  
"Let go of me!" Elizabeth said as loudly as she could trying to break free from his grip. This   
  
drew attention from a lot of people. Ric looked at her his eyes told her to keep her voice   
  
down. Elizabeth saw Jason and Courtney out of the corner of her eye. *Jason...thank god*   
  
she thought to herself.  
  
Jason by then had enough. He told Courtney to stay where she was and stormed over to   
  
where Ric and Elizabeth were. He put a forceful arm of Ric's shoulder spinning him around.   
  
Ric had lost his grip from Elizabeth by then. Before Ric could say anything or do anything.   
  
His face was met with Jason's fist. Ric stumbled into a barstool. He stood back up and put a   
  
hand on his now swollen lip.  
  
"This doesn't contain to you Morgan!" Ric said now through clenched teeth.  
  
"Stay away from Elizabeth." Jason said as he glared at Ric.  
  
Courtney had now disobeyed Jason and walked over to the group. "Get out Ric...you aren't   
  
welcome in Carly's club." she said.  
  
Ric took a quick glance around and knew that it was time ago. Too many people were now   
  
looking at him.  
  
"Fine, I'm leaving....but this isn't over. I will make you love me again Elizabeth." Ric said as   
  
he reached for Elizabeth's hand. Elizabeth yanked her hand away before he could touch it.   
  
Ric sighed slightly and then walked off and exited the club. Elizabeth sighed in relief.  
  
"Are you alright Elizabeth? Did he hurt you?" Jason asked concerned.  
  
"I'm alright....thank you." Elizabeth said softly as she looked into his eyes. Jason smiled as he looked at her.  
  
"I'm just glad that you got here in time. I couldn't have fought him off for much longer." Elizabeth says.  
  
She had completely forgot that Courtney was there until she heard Courtney speak up...  
  
"That Ric Lansing deserves to be in jail. He is a monster." Courtney said.  
  
"I agree...but he made some sort of deal with the feds to get out of jail free. I think he gave   
  
them some information on Alkazar didn't he?" Elizabeth said as she looked at Jason for   
  
confirmation.  
  
"Yes, he did...the bastard. I want him away from Port Charles before he hurts anyone else." Jason said.  
  
"Hey Jason, I'm going to get us a table okay?" Courtney said.  
  
"Alright." Jason replied.  
  
"I hope you are alright Elizabeth." Courtney said sincerely.  
  
"Thanks Courtney." Elizabeth replied.   
  
Courtney smiled slightly then went off to get a table.  
  
"Thank you...thank you for saving me from Ric." Elizabeth said to Jason. "You are always   
  
known to have great timing." she said with a slight smile to lighten up the mood.  
  
"Your welcome...I just wish there was more that I can do for you." Jason said with a slight sigh.  
  
"Hey, you are here to have fun with your fiance...so I'm going to leave. Ric ruined my mood   
  
of spending my night here so I'll talk to you later and have a great time...and thanks for saving   
  
me again." Elizabeth said. She stepped up to him and gave him a hug. The hug that was   
  
intended to be a short quick hug turned into a long one. Neither of them knew why, they just   
  
held each other for the longest time. Elizabeth finally broke the hug and smiled.  
  
"I'll see you around." she said then walked off. She stopped a few feet away and watched   
  
Jason stand there for a second then walk off in the direction that Courtney went.  
  
**********  
  
Emily set her fork down on her plate. She had finished her dinner and she waited for Zander   
  
to do the same. Once Zander had finished and the waiter had taken their plates away, she   
  
knew that it was time to tell Zander.  
  
"Zander, I hope you have had a good time so far." Emily started  
  
"I sure have...I always have a good time when I'm with you." Zander replied.  
  
*Why does he have to be so sweet all the time* Emily thought to herself.   
  
"Zander, I need to tell you something now." Emily started.  
  
"Okay, what is it? It seems really important by the tone of your voice." Zander says with a   
  
smile.  
  
"I....I...I can't marry you." Emily finally managed to say.  
  
Zander's smile faded instantly. "What?" he asked in shock.  
  
"I'm sorry Zander but I can't marry you." Emily said.  
  
"Is the cancer back? Are you trying to push me away again?" Zander asked.  
  
"No, no...the cancer isn't back. I'm still in remission and I'm not pushing you away at all. I just can't marry you." Emily said.  
  
"Then why not?" Zander asked with his eyes filled with anger and hurt. "Emily, why are you   
  
doing this to me?"  
  
"Zander...I'm so sorry." Emily said taking off her engagement ring and set it down on the table. Her eyes started to fill up with water and she rose from her chair. Emily then took off out of the restaurant.  
  
"Emily! Wait!" Zander called after her.  
  
********  
  
Emily found herself in the park. She had stopped running and sat down on a bench to catch   
  
her breath. A part of her regretted breaking things off with Zander because she knew that she   
  
couldn't be with Nikolas but the rest of her knew she was doing the right thing. She didn't   
  
want to string Zander along any longer. He deserved to be with someone who loved him with   
  
their whole heart. She wiped her tears away and closed her eyes trying to clam herself down.   
  
Emily then could have swore that she heard her name being called. Her ears perked up and   
  
she saw someone come out of the shadows. Emily saw it was Nikolas once he came into   
  
view. She stood up and tried to compose herself.  
  
"Hey Nikolas." Emily said and forced a friendly smile.  
  
Nikolas walked over to her. "I was hoping to find you." he said. "Elizabeth stopped by   
  
earlier...." he started.  
  
"You know don't you?" Emily asked figuring that he knew about her being in love with him.  
  
Nikolas nodded in response.  
  
"I'm so sorry...you weren't supposed to know. I don't want to complicate your life anymore   
  
than it already is and cause you any problems." Emily said.  
  
"Don't be sorry Emily...you could never cause me any problems." Nikolas said and looked at   
  
her. "I love you...and I finally find out that you love me too...our timing is real bad Em." he   
  
said with a slight grin.  
  
Emily broke a smile thinking about their complicated situation. "Yeah, you got that right."   
  
Emily said. "But you have Lydia now...we can't be together." she then said as she started to tear up.  
  
"Lets forget about Lydia for right now okay?" Nikolas said. He then pulled her into a warm embrace. Emily hugged Nikolas not wanting to let go.  
  
"I love you Nikolas..." She said while she hugged him.  
  
"I love you too Emily." Nikolas replied.  
  
************  
  
Carly walked into her own club and occupied an empty barstool. *Screw you Sonny   
  
Corinthos* she thought to herself. She was extremely pissed off at the moment. Carly   
  
decided to order something to drink and found herself ordering a margarita. Carly drowned   
  
it instantly and ordered another....and another and another. Carly lost track after drinking 4   
  
of them.  
  
Zander found himself outside of Carly Corinthos' Club. He was devastated after Emily broke   
  
off their engagement. He decided to drown himself in his sorrows...maybe the pain would go   
  
away then. He walked inside and loosened his tie. He approached the bar and saw a familiar   
  
looking blonde sitting there sipping on a drink.  
  
"Is this seat taken?" he asked her referring to the empty barstool next to her.  
  
Carly turned around and saw Zander and smiled.  
  
"Zander!!! Its sooooo nice to see you." Carly said now with a goofy grin on her face. She then burped and smiled once again.  
  
Zander looked at her oddly. "Carly? How much did you have to drink?" he asked her.  
  
"Dunno....I lost track after 4!" Carly said then started laughing for no apparent reason at all.  
  
*She is most certainly drunk* Zander thought to himself. "Can you stand up and walk?" he   
  
asked her.  
  
"Let me try." Carly said. She got up off the barstool and attempted to walk. She lost her   
  
balance and stumbled into Zander. "How did I do?" she asked.  
  
"Uh...let me drive you home." Zander said  
  
"No!! I'm not going back there." Carly instantly said. "Sonny is such a jerk...such a big big   
  
big big J-E-R-K."  
  
"I just can't leave you here." Zander said. An idea came into his head. "Let me take you to   
  
my apartment for a while. Maybe I can help sober you up or something."  
  
"Ok..." Carly said.  
  
"Now, I want you to drape your arm around my neck. I'm going to help you walk out of here   
  
okay?" Zander said.  
  
"Alright." Carly replied. She put his arm around his neck and Zander helped her walk to the   
  
door of the club. He used his other arm to open the door and gently guided her out. 


	6. Feelings

Chapter 5.......Feelings  
  
Lydia Cassadine was out taking a walk. She loved her life now except for the part about having to stay faithful to Nikolas. She had plenty of money at her dispense...she had power...she had a high title, but the only thing missing was romance. Her business marriage to Nikolas was exactly as it seemed... strictly business. They slept in separate rooms, didn't talk much and sure as heck didn't enjoy each other's company. Lydia sighed as she rounded the corner to the park. Her jaw dropped open at what she saw...her husband in a warm embrace with none other than Emily Quartermaine. *That little twit. Doesn't she ever go away* she thought in anger. Emily had been a pain in a neck for her. She almost didn't have what she had now because of her. Lydia had two options...to stay and watch them without doing anything or to break up this little union. Lydia had never been the type to sit back and not do anything so she easily made the choice to confront them. She stormed up to them with her claws out and ready to attack.  
  
"Nikolas! What in the hell are you doing?!" Lydia yelled.  
  
Emily and Nikolas heard Lydia's voice and quickly broke their hug. They hadn't noticed her and hoped that she hadn't heard what they were saying.  
  
"Lydia, what are you doing here?" Nikolas asked. "Did you follow me?" he asked confused to why she was there.  
  
"Don't flatter yourself. I was taking a walk and I found you here with...this twit." Lydia said and glared at Emily. "Trying to steal my husband away from me....that Zander Smith not enough of a man for you?" she hissed  
  
"FYI, Zander and I are through." Emily started. "And nothing happened between Nikolas and I. We hugged, thats all." she said.  
  
"You looked pretty cozy to me!" Lydia yelled.  
  
"Lydia, you are overreacting. Emily will always be important to me and she will always be in my life. If you can't accept that then I suggest you divorce me." Nikolas said.  
  
"What kind of an idiot do you take me for? You just want me to divorce you so you can be with Miss Quartermaine here....well I don't think so! I want the money and I am not going to loose it. Now, lets go home Nikolas.....now." Lydia said her eyes narrowing at Nikolas. She planted her hands on her hips.  
  
"No." Nikolas firmly said. "If you want to go home so badly, then just go now alone because I'm not ready to go home."  
  
"How dare you! I *am* your wife dammit!!!" Lydia screamed.  
  
"Stop it!" Emily exclaimed in frustration. "I'll leave alright Lydia. I don't want to cause any problems for Nikolas. I don't want him to have to hear you anymore because of me. I'll see you later okay Nikolas." Emily said as she looked into his eyes. Nikolas just looked at her and smiled sadly.  
  
"I'll see you later Emily." he said and watched her walk off....  
  
********  
  
Zander carefully opened his apartment door and guided Carly into his apartment. He helped her over to the couch and then helped her sit down. He sighed in relief that he didn't let her fall or anything on the way to his apartment. He walked over to his mini kitchen and put on a pot of coffee. Even though it was late out and coffee would keep her awake, Zander heard that coffee helps one sober up. After he put on a pot of coffee, Zander went over to the sofa and sat down next to Carly. They sat in silence for a while and Zander finally spoke up.  
  
"Do you want to talk about why you insisted that you didn't want to go home?" he asked her.  
  
"Sonny is such a controlling jerk!" Carly said then laughed all of a sudden. "He actually put a curfew on me...a fricken curfew!!"  
  
Zander didn't say anything. Sonny was known to be somewhat controlling at times but he knew that Sonny was only trying to protect Carly.  
  
"Sorry that I ruined your evening." Carly said then burped. "Excuse me."  
  
"Thats alright....I didn't have much of an evening anyway. It got ruined after dinner." Zander said as he looked down at the floor.  
  
"What happened?" Carly asked. "Did Emily not enjoy her meal or something?" she asked meaning it as a joke.  
  
"She enjoyed her meal...least I think so, but she didn't enjoy me...she broke off our engagement." Zander said sadly.  
  
"Oh my god....I'm soooo sorry Zander!" Carly said. "Let me give you a hug, you should feel better." she said.  
  
Even though Zander knew that Carly was very drunk, it helped to have someone to talk to and someone to try and make him feel better. Before he knew it, Carly was hugging him. She was helping him a lot more than she probably realized. Zander broke the hug and smiled slightly.  
  
"Thanks Carly." he said. "Let me go and get your coffee." he said and got up.   
  
Carly stretched herself out on his sofa after he got up. Zander went into the kitchen and found the coffee was just done. He poured her a glass and returned to the living room. He found Carly fast asleep on the sofa. Zander set the coffee cup down and walked over to Carly. He carefully took her shoes off and then got a blanket to cover her up. Zander covered Carly up and gave her a quick kiss on the forehead.  
  
*Goodnight Carly* he thought as he left the room to retire to his room for the night.  
  
*******  
  
After leaving Carly's Club, Elizabeth decided to go for a walk by the docks to clear her mind. Everything kept replaying in her mind....her run in with Ric....Jason saving her and her hug with Jason. Elizabeth mentally scolded herself for thinking any thoughts about Jason. He was an engaged man, soon to be married to Courtney Matthews. Elizabeth found a big crate and decided to sit down for a rest. She sat down and set her purse down next to her. It was not getting chilly out and she didn't have a coat. All she had on was a black dress that she wore to the club for the evening. As she was sitting there, she saw a figure on the docks. She froze praying that it wasn't Ric Lansing. She didn't want to ever see that man again. She noticed the figure turn around and look at her.  
  
"Elizabeth?" a familiar sounding voice said.  
  
Elizabeth instantly knew that she had nothing to worry about. It was only Lucky.  
  
"Hey Lucky." she said standing up and grabbing her purse. Elizabeth then walked over to him.  
  
"What are you doing here all by yourself at night Liz?" Lucky asked her.  
  
"I needed to go for a walk....to clear my mind. I had a run in with Ric at Carly's Club. He really scared me....luckily I was saved by Jason or I don't know what would have happened." Elizabeth said.  
  
"Did he hurt you?" Lucky asked.  
  
"He just grabbed my wrists pretty hard, but thats all he did." Elizabeth said as he rubbed her left wrist. Jason showed up after that...." she said then shivered slightly. Lucky noticed that she looked chilly so he took off his jacket and draped it around her shoulders.   
  
"There...I don't want you to catch a cold." Lucky said with a slight smile.  
  
"Thanks." Elizabeth said softly as she felt herself warming up already. "What are you doing here Lucky?" she asked him.  
  
"Me? Well I'm just trying to think of a way to get my brother away from that Lydia girl." Lucky said with a sigh.  
  
"Oh yes...Lydia...she is a real treat isn't she?" Elizabeth said sarcastically.  
  
"I want her out of my brother's life for good...any suggestions?" Lucky asked.  
  
"Well Nikolas told me that he is stuck with her until...a) She or he dies or b) unless she cheats on him. I'm going to go for B as the best option of Nikolas getting free of that snobbish bitch." Elizabeth said and cracked a smile.  
  
"Its nice to see you smile again Elizabeth." Lucky said as he cressed her cheek lightly.  
  
"Me too...My life has been hell these past few months...with finding out about everything that Ric did and the fact that he lied to me over and over and over again....and the divorce was very difficult. Ric tried to fight it at first, I figured that he would do that. Eventually he let go...and granted me what I wanted, a divorce. But after tonight, I know he still hasn't given up on this fantasy of getting me back."  
  
Lucky didn't say anything, he just pulled Elizabeth into a hug. As Lucky hugged Elizabeth, a weird feeling came over him. He never felt this way about Elizabeth before that he remembered...was he starting to develop feelings for her beyond friendship? Did what Helena do to him wear off? Lucky didn't know so he decided to forget about it and ignore what weird feeling he was getting. 


End file.
